M.A.S.K. Episode 40 "Eyes of the Skull"
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AIR DATE: Nov 22, 1985
CHARACTERS: (M.A.S.K.) Matt Trakker, Bruce Sato, Gloria Baker, Dusty Hayes, Scott & T-Bob. (V.E.N.O.M.) Miles Mayhem, Sly Rax, Cliff Dagger.
VEHICLES: (M.A.S.K.) Thunder Hawk, Shark, Gator. (V.E.N.O.M.) Switchblade, Jackhammer, Piranha.
VEHICLES: (M.A.S.K.) Thunder Hawk, Shark, Gator. (V.E.N.O.M.) Switchblade, Jackhammer, Piranha.
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4 Comments
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ReplyDeleteThis was a good episode, despite the heavy presence of Scott and T-Bob, and the bad puns. VENOM displays a remarkable level of competence in not only figuring out that Scott is Matt Trakker's son, but in finding him so quickly as well. In fact, it was really too easy for Rax to find Scott so fast in such a big city as San Francisco. Also, as someone who has traveled there, I can state with certainty that the Golden Gate Bridge is never that deserted, at any time. The Crowley guy turned out to be a real jerk, just walking off instead of letting Trakker know about the properties of the skull in the beginning. Guess they needed to fill a half hour somehow. My biggest peeve with the episode was the ending. It was just too convenient that the skull could be destroyed by its own reflection, and not only that, but why Dagger would forget everything that happened made no sense since he never used the skull at all. By all rights, VENOM should still know Trakker is the leader of MASK, but unfortunately this will not be the case, as the rest of season 1 will return to status quo after this episode. A strong episode to be sure, except for the weak ending.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting episode, at least from a fan's point of view. The plot is quite shocking, as the idea of VENOM discovering the true identity of the members of MASK is almost unthinkable in this version of the series.
ReplyDeleteThe episode includes some great scenes. The best ones are probably when T-Bob chases Rax after he has kidnapped Scott and when Mayhem calls Matt and tells him that he has discovered that he is the leader of MASK. I especially liked that we never heard Mayhem's entire list of demands in this scene. Instead it switches to T-Bob, which is great. Another good scene is when Switchblade appears over The Golden Gate Bridge towards the end of the episode.
However, the episode also contains some big flaws. Firstly the episode, probably more than any of the others, suffers from being too short. I know that these episodes can't last longer than 22 minutes, but perhaps it would have been an idea to divide some of them into two parts. The episode feels like it's over before it has even started, and the scull breaks just when it's starting to get exciting.
The episode's biggest flaw is still that the ending is revealed too soon. The moment the professor says that if the scull sees its own reflection and breaks, all knowledge gained with it will be erased from the viewer's memory, everyone understands that that's how the episode is going to end. Wouldn't it have been a better idea if we had seen the scull break and VENOM looking all confused and not remembering anything without knowing why this happened, and then the professor could have explained this for example in a conversation with Matt at the very end of the episode? That way the ending wouldn't have been revealed so early.
In this review I have chosen not to pay any attention to the fact that MASK and VENOM , in another version of the series, are supposed to have been one organization once, and therefore know each other's identity. The MASK series comes in two different versions, one in which VENOM knows the identity of the MASK members, and one in which they don't. This is not unique for MASK, and there are shows where the illogicalities caused by different versions are much greater than they are here.
I definitely enjoyed this episode, because it was the closest V.E.N.O.M. ever came to defeating M.A.S.K.
ReplyDeleteIt also shows how important a role the masks themselves play in the M.A.S.K. agents' lives, since they protect their civilian identities on top of being weapons.
This was something the second season of the cartoon AND both the U.S. and UK comics all threw away and made it so everyone on both teams knew one another's secret identities.